African Renaissance is a journal that has a track record of commitment to espousing the dynamics of politics in Africa. This commitment is borne out of the realisation that the link between politics and development continues to receive academic attention, especially as it unfolds on the continent. The state as a political community embodies the drive towards development. Plato’s stance on the state and its utility for development shows that it is necessary to engage the state and its processes to ensure that it delivers its mandate. Thus, there is a growing aberration in Africa as politics is engendering everything but development. The state in Africa is shirking from its mandate to galvanise its political process towards the upliftment of its institutions and the well-being of the people. Hence, violence, socioeconomic decay, political instability, corruption, endemic poverty and acute infrastructure inadequacy, among others, are now the daily lived reality of the Africans.

Addressing the foregoing issues and challenges in the quest to enhance the link between politics and development on the continent informs the stance of the African Renaissance to be the continent’s main academic platform for the discussion of politics across Africa. Thus, successive issues of the journal address political issues and dynamics to provide practical policy recommendations to stabilise the continent and set it on the path to sustainable development. This new issue addresses fundamental issues in African politics, such as migration, election and its dynamics, decolonisation, democracy, human security, transitional justice, neoliberalism and peace, among other burning issues affecting the continent. These were expertly discussed to isolate the problems with Africa, and solutions were recommended. Hence, this issue holds important significance for the continent as it gravitates towards development.

 The successful publication of a journal is demonstrably a team effort. Hence, this is to extend our appreciation to everyone who participated in the publication process, chiefly the editorial board, reviewers and other team members, who worked assiduously to ensure that the issue comes out in its best form. To this end, we can say that this issue of African Renaissance continues the tradition of academic excellence that has been established over the years, with the articles well-researched, well-reviewed and well-processed. We are, therefore, confident they will contribute to knowledge of African politics, and we invite African politics stakeholders to avail themselves of this issue to enhance the linkage between politics and development on the continent.